Hinged dashboard.



No. 645,052. Patented Mar. l3, I900. A. H. ALEXANDER 81. T. A. REYNOLDS.

HINGED DASHBOARD.

(Application filed Nov. 22, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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ALFRED II. ALEXANDER AND THOMAS A. REYNOLDS, OF WEST HOBOKEN,

NE\V JERSEY; SAID REYNOLDS ASSIGNOR TO SAID ALEXANDER.

HING ED DASHBOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,052, dated March 13, 1900. Application filed November 22, 1899. Serial No. 737,851. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALFRED H. ALEXAN- DER and THOMAS A. REYNOLDS, citizens of the United States, residing at West I-Ioboken,

in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hinged Dashboards; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,

to such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. Our invention relates to dashboards for wheeled vehicles; and the object of the same is to provide simple and efficient means for [5 hinging a dashboard to the body of the buggy or other vehicle in order that the shafts or tongue may be thrown up into substantially a vertical plane when the vehicle is not in use.

It has been the practice in stables and carriage-houses to prop the shafts or tongues of vehicles when not in use by means of a board of the required length to hold the shafts or tongue at an angle of about forty-five degrees from the floor. This practice is injurious to both the shafts and the dashboard, as the cross-bar which connects the shafts bears against the dashboard and mars it and the board or prop is liable to scratch and disfigure the shafts. Moreover, the shafts are not held entirely out of the way by means of the prop and the prop is liable to be knocked out from under the shafts, letting them drop with considerable force to the floor and oftentimes causingconsiderableinjurytothem. Inplaces where a large number of carriages are to be stored economy of space is a matter of considerable importance, and with the rigidlysecured dashboards in present use much floorspace is occupied by the projecting shafts,

4o since the cross-bar between the shafts comes in contact with the rigid dashboard and the shafts cannot be swung upward far enough to permit another buggy-top under them. In

some cases the shafts are permitted to lie on the fioor and other wagons are run over them,

often marring them, and then much difficulty is experienced in getting the wagon out, the shafts being in the way.

' It is the principal object of our invention to provide simple, reliable, and quickly-operated means for holding the dashboard firmly in two positions-namely, in an upright position when in use and in a backwardly-inclined position when it is desired to throw the shafts up out of the way to occupy a space only within the area occupied by the vehicle body and wheels.

We attain the objects and advantages re-. ferred to by means of the construction shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a buggy having a hinged dashboard and the shafts thrown back out of the way. Fig. 2 is a side view of our dashboard hinge and pivoted latch. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the members of our hinge. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the hinge members.

Like numerals of reference designate like parts in the difierent views.

The numeral 1 designates a vehicle-dash of the usual or any preferred construction, and 2 is a hinge-joint between the vehicle-body and the dash, said hinge being secured to said vehicle-bodyanddash,asshown. Thishingejoin t consists of the two members 3 and 4. The member 3 has a shank or plate 5,provided with bolt-holes 6 6,th rough which the bolts pass for securing it to the vehicle-body. At the upper end of plate 5 spaced lugs 7 7 are formed, and said lugs are provided with alined apertures 8 8, which serve as bearings for a pintle 9. The member tof the hinge consists of a casting having a boss or enlargement 10,

provided with an aperture 11 for the pintle 9,

said boss being of a size to fit between the spaced lugs 7 7, and the pintle 9 is passed through the apertures in the boss and lugs and may be secured in place by a nut 12. Projecting outward from the boss 10 is a toe 13, which serves as a stop to limit the pivotal movement of the members 3 and 4 and also as an abutment for a latch 14, pivoted to the plate 5 on the bolt 15. The boss and toe are formed on the outer end of a plate 16, which conforms in width to the plate 5and has shoulders 17 at the sides of said boss. At the opposite end of the plate 16 an ear or flange 18 extends at right angles to said plate, and a bolt-hole 19 is formed in said car. A bolt 20 passes through the dash and through the hole 19, and a nut 21 fits the threaded end of said bolt for clamping the dash firmly to the car 18.

The latch 14: consists of a plate pivoted on the bolt 15, and at its upper end the plate is rounded off on one corner at 22 to permit it to pass from under the toe 13 and to swing outward on its pivot 15. A thumb-nut13 fits the bolt and serves to hold the latch 14 under the toe when the dash is in upright or operative position and serves to hold said latch against the side of said too when the dash is thrown backward.

A stop 23, formed on the lower end of the latch 14, comes in contact with a projection 24 on the plate 5 to limit the outward swing of said latch.

The bottom wall or surface 25 between the lugs 7 7 serves to limit the action of the toe when the hinge is operated in one direction, and the upper end of the latch performs a similar function when the hinge is swung in the reverse direction.

Two hinges of like construction are usually employed, one at each end of the dash upon the inside of the vehicle, as shown.

The device is operated as follows: When the dash is to be held in a vertical position for use, as shown in Fig. 2, the toe 13 rests on top of the pivoted latch 14 and is firmly and reliablyheld in this position by the thumbnut 13. When the vehicle is to be placed in the stable or carriage-house. the thumb-nut 13 is loosened and the latch is swung to one side to let the toe 13 pass down between the lugs 7 721s the dash is thrown backward. The latch 14 may then be turned back to its original position and the thumb-nut tightened to clamp the side of the latch against the side of the toe, thus holding the dash in its inclined position, as shown in Fig. 1. The shafts 26 are then thrown upward into a vertical or nearly-vertical position, as shown in Fig. 1. the shafts are brought down and the latch is-dise'ngaged from the toe and the dash is straightened up and the latch swung and clamped under the toe.

It will be understood, of course, that for some classes of vehicles-such as surreys, phaetons, ro'ckaways, &c.-the hinge-joint will require some modifications to conform to the construction of the dash and vehicle-body. Such alterations fairly fall within the spirit and scope of our invention, and we do not wish to be understood as being limited to the precise construction disclosed.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim is- 1. A hinge for vehicle-dashes, consisting of two members, one secured to the vehicle-body, and the other to the dash; a projecting toe on one member and a pivoted latch on the other member for bearing against the toe and holding the dash in two positions, substantially as described.

2. A hinge for vehicle-dashes, consisting of two members, a pivoted latch on one member and a toe on the other member, and a thumbnut for holding the latch against opposite sides of the toe for securing the dash in two positions, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED H. ALEXANDER. THOMAS A. REYNOLDS.

Witnesses:

H. M. J OHNSON, ELEANORA S. HOLT.

When the vehicle is to be used again, 

